IGP to Police officers: don’t rush to arrest suspects

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura has cautioned police officers against rushing to arrest suspects without carrying out thorough investigations.

According to Kayihura, rushing to arrest suspects without sufficient investigations only creates problems for the force.

“[When] you arrest, you create a problem within the community and in most cases it does not even help solve. Let us do more of investigation before arresting. The new police policy is community policing. For such small cases like arresting boda boda riders, was it necessary? And then after they heap all the blame on me as if it was orders from above. That once the IGP is here you arrest all boda boda riders. Uh-huh, I have nothing to do with it, don’t include me in those issues. He will get on the floor of parliament and blame me, mr I already have enough cases that am dealing with”, he said.

He was responding to reports of arrests of several boda boda motorists prior to his visit to Kibuku district to commission Kilika police station on Saturday.

The police station was built in collaboration between residents and crime preventers in the area at the tune of Shs 8m. Residents decided to construct the police station following a spate of gruesome murders in the area between 2013 and 2014.

Kayihura urged the officers to use the neighbourhood watch to stem crime in their areas.

“Use neighbourhood watch, use crime preventers and trail the suspects. Once you have enough evidence that is when you can arrest and then go to court. This is a directive now – a method of law enforcement under community policing. What distinguishes you from the traditional police is that; you don’t start by arresting [but] most of you are still in that old tradition of policing. You are quick to arrest yet you don’t even have enough cells to put them [suspects]. Why do you rush to arrest? Because that is the easy way? The distinctive factor is you don’t arrest”, he said.

The IGP’s statement come a few days after he and his junior commanders were dragged to Makindye Chief Magistrate’s court by a group of lawyers for torturing the supporters of Dr Kizza Besigye, the former Forum for Democratic Change party presidential candidate.

They are wanted to answer charges of torture after they were captured on camera mercilessly beating Besigye’s supporters who were cheering and following him after his release from Luzira prison last month.